Wow I love seeing your companion plants too diane !! If you are so inclined I’d love to see more . I actually may start a thread bc I am sorely missing companion plants in my very small garden

Lily, you may regret asking. I have lots of companion photos and itchy posting fingers. Diane

I wanna see too!!!!

@Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & hot-humid S, z6 Moses, thanks for this helpful information. I couldn't really understand the info I was finding on different rootstocks for zones. Makes sense to aim for not only a rose that does well with winter, but a hardy rootstock.

I wouldn't mind own root, but I cleared a lot of brush off my property this summer, so I have a good amount of space to fill. Otherwise a smaller end plant would work. I read that about her blooms lasting (in vase too based on @strawchicago z5 great Evelyn bouquets) so that's also what attracted me besides the flower itself.

I will keep looking for her on multiflora or huey. If I can't find, maybe I'll plant an own root or fortuniana in one of my giant 30 gallon pots. Have you ever been able to leave a rose in a big pot outside over winter? These pots are so large, that I leave them outside. Zone 3 perennials come back great in them...and some Yuccas I have. But I'd love to try some roses in some if I can leave them in the cold.

@Diane Brakefield - Diane, beautiful photos! I love the look of all your roses. Now I want Evelyn even more! ;) Glad to hear she likes the sun....I battle the sun myself, now planning to build a pergola, but the plants like it. I read that in other posts, that she does well with heat/sun so she is top of my list. Unfortunate that she is so difficult to find.

I have to look up Rouge Royale. Have you ever tried growing Abe grafted? I really like his intense coloration. I think most I'm getting are grafted (from DA) Hopefully that let's them get some size so they can fill in their spaces.

Also Diane I was trying to read up on Marianne rose. Looks sort of similar to Abe/Evelyn and I think I saw some pictures of yours maybe? Looks beautiful if it was yours. Also love that apricot drift and surrounding plants, I can't wait to add companions to my roses next spring too.

Does anyone know of any other sources for cold hardy grafted Austins? The people at DA said Evelyn wouldn't be shipped until 2022 at this point. Seems crazy but maybe she's just that hard to find?

Thanks, B. I wish I had all your sun. It's sunny and hot here, but we have to have so many trees in our small yard, and it's ruining lots of my roses. You probably know this, but you can get some Austins grafted on multiflora from Hortico and Palatine (list to come out soon). I have a number of Austins on mutiflora and they do well, though I prefer Huey. I haven't tried Abe grafted, but I'd like to. I'm still waiting for the own root Abe to get with it. I love Apricot Drift and have a bunch. They fill in well around the larger roses. I don't grow Marianne but I'm writing it on my "look up" list right now. I love Rouge Royale which blooms all the time. It's my best bouquet rose with the blooms really lasting and smelling great to the bitter end. I'll bet you've seen these pics of RR, but I'll post a couple. Diane

Evelyn was in stock on the David Austin website in June for spring 2021 shipping, but sold out within a few months. They sell it in limited quantities. Check the website in June 2021 or early summer to see if it's back in stock.

I would go with grafted instead of small own root plant. (Heirloom Roses has larger size one gallon own roots, but they no longer sell Evelyn.)

I grew 'Evelyn' when I lived in Toronto many years ago. It always died down to 6" every winter. It never grew taller than 24" and always faded to a greyed-out dirty peach/pink by the end of the first day it opened. It was also one of the most blackspot prone roses I grew in my TO garden.

When I moved, I decided not to grow it again. I found it to be a disappointment.

When I called DA a couple of months ago they said they only have a small number of Evelyn every year and it’s sold out quickly. I‘m also looking.

Ugh....I’m bummed to hear that Abe doesn’t grow vigorously on its own roots. I have one I received from Heirloom and have been so excited about it! I was hoping he’d be a star in my garden.

I love my own root Abe from Heirloom. He is doing great here.

Sheila, if my Abe looked as good as yours, I wouldn't be unhappy with him. Remember, mine is the notorious Twig Darby from a reputable dealer. I have no idea what went wrong. He's now a pretty little plant but way too small. The heavy blooms drag his canes down, so the blooms face down, and some end up practically on the ground. Diane

Your Evelyns are to die for, Diane, and I am so hoping moving my own root one (Heirloom) and Star of the Republic (ARE) was not too late. Your Abe looks great, but I agree so much smaller than your glorious monster DAs usually get to. Here, I really think my location choices turned out to be terrible in a hot dry Summer. I should have moved them sooner. Sometimes, I act like an observer and watch what they do too long. I know some are moving plants around all the time, but that has not been my habit.

Maybe own root is your issue there with twig Darby.

Thank you, Sheila. I am like you in observing a rose for ages before I can make a decision about moving or removing it. I hate being indecisive that way, and I have missed some great opportunities for better roses. I think I have too much emotion tied up in some of my older roses like Brother Cadfael. He's like a misbehaving son who's old enough to know better. How can you get rid of your son, for petessake? Diane

@Diane Brakefield - I didn't know about Hortico, and just recently read about Palatine and their rootstock. Thanks so much for letting me know, I emailed Hortico last night about Evelyn, so I will let this forum know if I hear anything back. Good to know about your preference for Huey. I ordered most of my roses for next spring from DA....I know that isn't always recommended on the forum, but I am so new to roses that I figured the 5 year warranty from DA might help me ease into growing them, versus ordering a bunch from another dealer and having problems that lead to me giving up.

I'm definitely lucky here with all of the sun for my plants, though I am overly sensitive to it with my skin and have trouble being out there very long during 11-4pm in summer. Still trying to figure that out with possible pergola or shade sails. The colors on your Rouge Royale are so pretty. I like the different tones of red and then deep purple mixed in.

@Krista_5NY Krista, thanks for the info on Evelyn. I'll probably have to wait until next summer to try and order it from DA if I decide to try her. Seems like maybe they should dedicate an entire growing field or greenhouse to her......give more people the chance to buy? ;) I'm at that point with it where I'm now wondering if I even REALLY want her, or want her because I can't seem to get her............

@User Thanks for the info on her. I don't think I want to deal with anything to difficult to grow since I'm new to this. Any thoughts on Abe Darby in cold zones? I know in reality, him and Evelyn's flowers are probably different, but from pictures they look similar and I like Abe's just as much in color/form.

@sbrklyn_7bny I'll let you know if I come across her. You'd think DA would take advantage of her popularity and offer more plants of her. I'm sure there are lots of logistics that I don't know about that make that impossible.

@LauraLG Z5b-NwPA I say give him a shot :) I'm going to give him a shot. Too nice looking not to. If nothing else, he will give me a chance to test my patience which I've found is often the key to successful gardening/plants. A lot of times I've found that a plant just needs time (and the right soil type/healthy soil).

@Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR Beautiful shots Sheila! He looks happy to me. I really like that second picture, with his flowers popping like fireworks against all the lush greenery. Thanks for sharing, now I'm more amped to see how he does here next spring.

@Diane Brakefield Diane, sorry to tag you twice in this reply. I think I've read that post of yours about Twig Darby quite a few times over the past couple of months, trying to read up on Abe. I wish he'd do better for you. I had a similar issue with my Jubilee Celebrations this past spring/summer. Thin canes, little new growth, but beautiful flowers that spent their days kissing the dirt. I gave the 2 I have alfalfa tea every 2 weeks or so, and lots of Neptunes fish+seaweed fertilizer and both plants eventually sent out thicker canes, probably 3.5 ft long that actually held up the giant blooms by the end of summer. Apologies if you've tried these things before with your Abe. My Jubilee's are new this spring, so maybe it's a different situation (and I'm new to roses...maybe they're very different types of roses?). But maybe it will help jumpstart him for you.

After growing Evelyn for 20 years, I think it's one of my very best roses. It has very good repeat bloom, the blooms are fantastic as is the fragrance with a note of fresh peach.

I wish David Austin would grow it in greater quantities, worth the wait but difficult to find in stock.

I absolutely consider Evelyn to be a must have rose.

@oursteelers 8B PNW + @Krista_5NY Wow. Saw these pictures super early this morning....what beautiful colors to wake up to. Now I am convinced to try Evelyn out. Thank you for those inspiring colors. Krista, yours are all grafted? How large do they grow after winter dieback (if any?)

Maybe I will plan a spot for her and just keep it empty until I can hopefully get some from DA for 2022. Thanks again everyone, appreciate hearing how she does and even more, for the beautiful photos.

Mine are grafted on Dr. Huey. After pruning they are 2- 3 feet tall, by summer time 4- 4 1/2 feet tall.

Thanks Krista. I'll wait until I can get grafted huey, and plan for a space for 1 or 2. They look beautiful, I bet they're even better in person.

Chilly z5 here - both Abe & Evelyn die back to the ground - both of mine are grafted. They get about knee high and do wind up with some BS by midsummer. I think these are both roses that like water and fertilizer, definitely not plant & forget. My yard is pretty exposed so not much in the way of protection, YMMV. Take a look at some of the other apricot roses that are a little more hardy - Bliss and the like. They get some size here.

Try Princess Charlene de Monaco. She smells wonderful and looks a lot like Abe and sorta like Evelyn as well. She is a better bloomer than both of them here and is healthier. She is definitely more readily available, if you cant get Evelyn or Abe. As with all things, it may depend on your conditions, who does better where.

Evelyn seems to like hot and dry. I have 3 and they dont bloom as often as I would like them to, even though they all got the best spots in the yard. My PCdMs just got stuck wherever I had room and they bloom way more. My conditions are hot & humid and I dont spray.

Evelyn

Abe

PCdM

Sultry, OMG! Your Evelyn surely looks better than my hot and dry conditions own root one here. Gorgeous.

Sheila, it doesnt bloom much though :( But..thank you :)

My 3 Evelyns are grafted on DH. Some people in FL have it on Fortuniana and it blooms better for them.

My PcdM photos don't do her justice. Lisa has some really good photos of her. I remember she did a guessing-game-post with Abe and PCdM and those pics were gorgeous!

I think Bathsheba is a good choice for people who may not be able to find Evelyn.

Sometimes she looks very similar to Abe or Evelyn. I think it just depends on the day with some of these roses..the weather conditons etc. Sometimes they are more pink, sometimes more apricot, fluffier, flatter, less or more fragrant.

Bathsheba..She is a good bloomer here and a climber.

Your photography is excellent too, Sultry. Thank you for these photos.

@Dingo2001 - Z5 Chicagoland - Dingo, thanks for the info on size/growth. Bliss looks beautiful on hmf. How big does she get/stay for you after winter? I'm hoping to fill these 2 spaces with something that gets about 4ft tall and wide....bigger is ok....but if the rose only gets 2-3ft max before dying to ground, I need to rethink things.

@sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish) - Sultry, thanks so much for reminding me of Princess Charlene. Looks beautiful actually. I don't spray either and it is hot and very sunny here in mid summer but I water a decent amount. I love all of your photos. Princess Charlene has great looking colors. The flower form seems to look like my Moonlight in Paris, but bolder colors. Maybe they're from the same family, they're both pretty.

I can't seem to figure out how hardy Princess Charlene is on houzz or HMF. I know you're not my zone, but would you happen to know if she seems safe for zone 5?

Your Bathsheba pictures are awesome. I planted two of those this year....what beautiful, interesting flowers. Not as many as your photos, so I'm excited about next year :) I'm pretty sure seeing photos of Bathsheba is what got me into roses. I forget now, but last winter I was searching for new plants to add to my garden with peach coloration and came across pics of it....and fell down the rose rabbit hole fast. Never knew roses could look so intricate with such interesting colors too. Thank you for your pictures and help!

After some quick googling most sites say PCdM is hardy to zone 5 for sure and many say to zone 4. If you plant a grafted one make sure to plant your PCdM with the graft 18 inches under the soil line.

Its been a long time since I gardened in colder zones lol, but I remember we planted the grafted roses deep so the graft wouldn't die. I hope someone who lives in your zone can advise you on that further :)

I know you will love PCdM! I was surprised at just how wonderfully fragrant she is~ just Yummy!!

I know about that "Rabbit Hole" Ive been living down there since I hit this forum lol!!!

@sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish) -Think I am going to give her a try then :) I also had Tamora or Ambridge lined up for these 2 spots.....but they seem to stay very short from what I read online.

At least it's pretty and smells nice down here in the rose rabbit hole hah.

Bliss is about 4ft for me, kind of vase shaped. I have PCDM, is smaller and more upright but has survived her for a couple of years. Bathsheba is a good one, mine is in part shade so I think is smaller, but an arching shape, good bloomer and is disease resistant here - maybe hip height? Fire Opal is another good apricot for me. Crazy Love is the size you are looking for but not sure if it's the color you are wanting. I love Just Joey too, but I don't know if he'll get big enough for you!

Bliss is under 3ft for me. I had her in a pot since I got her but just got her into the ground this spring. I love her coloring. She is sometimes very pink, sometimes apricot, sometimes creamy peach. She would be good for a front-of-the-bed rose.

Dingo, thanks for the sizing info. I will look up those last ones you mentioned on HMF.

Sultry- Those are beautiful, I especially like her glow with the backlight.

Does anyone have an opinion on Tamora or Ambridge being nice alternates for Evelyn's colors? They seem to be somewhat similar from HMF with good review info.

I am totally AMAZED by all of the fantastically gorgeous blooms!!!! There are just too many stunning flowers to single any out...I am blown away!!!!! :) :) :)

Here are some full bush shots of Evelyn that show the beauty of the bloom vs the reality of the bush. This is a nearby z5a garden, not mine.

When DA describes the growth as Upright or if the height vs width indicates a narrow tall bush, it often means a rose that blooms only at the end of long straight canes with little lateral growth. Such roses often resist pruning; cut or damage a main branch and they stubbornly refuse to produce blooming laterals.

These pics were taken in early July. These are mature, established plants. This garden winter protects using piles of salt marsh hay.

In the picture below, I'm not sure what the rose in the center is that is splayed out, I don't think that's Evelyn. But these pictures it demonstrate the need for staking of an upright growing rose like Evelyn. Personally I find numerous stakes throughout the garden unsightly and have come to prefer bushier plants. Still, there is nothing quite like Evelyn and I would not be without her.

@rosecanadian - It's true, and these pictures have only made me want an Evelyn more.....maybe this post was not a good idea ;)

@Baboosic z5b NH - Thanks for these pictures, great to see how she might grow here and thanks for the info on growth habits with DA's descriptions. Interesting since I tried to train some of my DA "climbers" this summer, and only a few actually shot laterals out of the longer arms that I trained horizontal. A bunch of them never did....

I like the subtle glow to Evelyn's flowers in your pictures, very pretty.

Ratdog, I love your photos showing your Evelyn's rebloom (and that fence). Your plants rebloom better than my older plants, but boy, size and growth habit are different. I know that must be because of climate differences. My Evelyns (four, currently, grafted on Huey) are wide, but upright. The largest, in good sun, does put forth long canes that whip in the wind, and I do a lot of cutting back during the season. By long, I mean 7-9 feet. And the bloom damage from wind causing the canes to rub against each other is extensive, in spite of all the trimming I do. As I mentioned earlier, the E's in shade are about 6X6 feet, and the bigger one is about 7x6 with trimming. I would like to see better rebloom in mine and less fading in color. The above photos are marvelous and I am most impressed by the excellent color and lushness of the blooms. To me, Bathsheba looks like a good replacement and maybe, improvement on E. Sultry, Bathsheba is stunning.

b, you asked about Tamora, which is a rose I love. I have grown her for about 14 years, and she is grafted on multifora. She came to me from the no longer existing, Pickering Nursery in Canada. Tamora is a dependable, continuous bloomer. She is a true small Austin rose, which I like, because I can fit her in a crowded spot. And she is a parent of Evelyn. Her blooms are quite lovely and have a soft, myrrh? scent, and a light apricot coloration. I highly recommend this rose. Diane

Ooooh!!! Diane!!! The 2nd shot is my favorite...the one with the hyssop?? But the 3rd one also knocks my socks off!!! :)

Thank you, Carol. That is alyssum in the second photo. And alyssum in the third photo. Snapdragons are in the first photo. Diane

Diane, your Tamora is so gorgeous!

I admit, Tamora, was the first Austin I remember drooling over in a catalog which made me fall in love with David Austin Roses. I lived in the desert then and grew a lot of roses but didn't think I could grow 'English Roses' there in the heat, so never bought Tamora. ~Sigh~

I was so ignorant then but I think a lot of

people thought that back then.

@Diane Brakefield Wow thank you for the beautiful Tamora pictures. For some reason it's hard to find full bush/plant shots of her on google....usually they're just of the beautiful flowers. Glad to hear everyone thinks Bathsheba is a good replacement/improvement on Evelyn. Bathsheba is my favorite rose for coloration. Carding Mill and Jubilee Celebration are favorites too but for flowering. I have 2 more Bathsheba coming in the spring (with some Abes too), so if I ever get Evelyn, it will be interesting to compare them all. I love learning about what roses are parents to others and how they all look color wise. The big bed I just finished planning and ordering roses for is color coordinated so that there are blends of similar (probably same families/parentage) colors and fading in and out of a linear plan I built. Hard to explain. But I found that having my Jubilee Celebration next to my Carding Mill this past year, really helped bring out the subtle color variations more in each. The cooler blue toned pinks of JC popped out more when Carding Mill had lots of it's hot/warm orange reds next to it and vice versa. But online in photos, roses can really look too similar sometimes. Will be interesting to see what these all look like (if)when they bloom next year.

I love the Tamora pictures and I'm happy to hear you've had yours for so long, and still enjoy her. I think I've only read good things about her online...so I'm excited to see how they do. The blooms have an interesting sherbert orange color color with the hint of pink that is nice. I like the alyssum too, going to try growing a lot of it around the roses to bring more 'good' bugs.

B have you gone on the Help Me Find website? There's usually some pics on there of the entire plant vs just the blooms - really helpful!

@Dingo2001 - Z5 Chicagoland - Dingo, thanks for the reminder. I forgot to check for Tamora on there. I keep getting lost/confused with searching for rose pictures through google vs. helpmefind and skip over some sometimes. She looks like a pretty plant, hopefully my two that are coming like it here. Have you tried growing her?

I have not tried Tamora. TBH the Austins are hit & miss for me here - I don't spray and some of them kind of need that to look their best. The ones that have done well here are Olivia, Mary Rose, Bathsheba, Poet's Wife, Scepter, St. Cecelia, St. Swithun, Christopher Marlowe, Scarborough Fair, Princess Anne, & Munstead Wood. I think most of these are grafted, some on Huey, some on multiflora.

B, Tamora has a lovely growth habit with no long floppy canes whatsoever. She's my smallest Austin by far, and the only one that has stayed that way. Austin's size estimates are cray cray for Westerners and Californians. They vastly underestimate how large their roses can get in some US environments, so I never pay attention to them. I've read more than once that Tamora has been used in breeding a lot--she's a good parent. Have you tried googling "rose plant Tamora" to bring up, not only listings of Tamora, but "Google Images" where hundreds of images are shown in one listing. I use that a lot. Diane

@Dingo2001 - Z5 Chicagoland Dingo, Thanks for the tips on which have done well for you. Once I get all of my new roses next year (and have them in the ground for a couple of years to see how they do), I'll be able to keep threads or updates on how they do in our zone. I'm hoping all of the austins I have coming do ok, or at least survive until I figure out how to get them to do ok ;)

@Diane Brakefield Diane thanks for these tips. I'm putting my two Tamora's on a hill so that I can look down and see their blooms hopefully. I read it is one of the better ones for upright blooms. Interesting about her breeding. Hopefully in time I'll learn more about parentage and breeding of all the roses. Thanks for the google tips too. I've been trying that for most of the roses I'm looking up, but some seem to end up showing a lot of other roses in image results that may just look like her. She looks like a beauty from your pictures though! Excited for next spring.

Diane - right...alyssum...of course! :)

Interesting discussions!!

Sultry is right that Evelyn should be planted with the graft well underground in zone 5 but 18 inches is too much. It is more like 4 inches or possibly even 6 but even that is a lot. I garden in zone 6 now and grew up in zone 5.

Cath